


Come as You Are

by TheWriterintheDark



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:35:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26056582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWriterintheDark/pseuds/TheWriterintheDark
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Emily Prentiss, Jason Gideon/David Rossi, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/William LaMontagne Jr., Penelope Garcia/Derek Morgan, Spencer Reid/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 9





	Come as You Are

*Spencer*

It was mostly silent in the jet, the only exception being the subtle whir of the engine, and Derek and Penelope bickering over paint chips at the other end of the plane. The bubbly technical analyst fought hard over a bright orange shade that she waved in the air passionately, while Agent Morgan clearly showed a preference toward a subdued grey shade. I laughed at the couple, then looked back down at my report. Pictures of mutilated women scattered across the manilla folder. The flight home always felt so much longer, as if it was the universe cursing us with more time to think about all the torture we had to consume. Time, the last thing we needed.

Adjacent to the quarreling couple sat Rossi, on the phone with Gideon I assumed. No one else could make his eyes light up the way they currently were. And across from him was Agent Hotchner, staring glumly into his paperwork, a stone-cold facade spread across his face. Emily and JJ gossiped and giggled behind him. It never failed to amaze me how desensitized we were by violence and trauma now, any normal person would assume we were the unfeeling psychopaths that we profiled. Maybe we really were. It’d explain why we know so much about them.

I noticed soon that the silence was broken by soft music coming from beside me. It was quiet but I could still make it out slightly. It was definitely rock, fast and noisy. Nirvana maybe? Never had been my style, although of course, modern music in general never was. The tune was leaking from loose earbuds next to me, the source being Agent Fitzgerald. Danielle was new, this was her 2nd case in fact. She had gotten along well with everyone instantly, she seemed to be a people-magnet. She was a natural conversationalist and exuded charisma. Her ability to charm made her a perfect profiler, it was so strong in fact I sometimes was skeptical that she was even human. I was never necessarily a cynic, maybe she was a witch or something? Maybe it wasn’t charisma at all, instead spells or hypnosis? I even mentioned my theory to Morgan, who obviously shut me down and laughed in my face. He of course told Garcia, who accused me of being romantically attracted to our newest agent. As if. Romance was never quite in the card for me. They knew that.

Danielle was quite conventionally beautiful, that was undeniable. Still, there was nothing between us, and I wouldn’t want anything anyway. I looked back down and resumed my report until I noticed the soft music stopped. My eyes flitted back up and noticed Fitz walking towards Hotch, handing him her presumably finished report. They exchanged nods and she headed back to her seat. That was another thing about her. She was brilliant. She wasn’t quite an academic genius by any means, in fact I’d noticed her even struggling to do simple maths, but she was so...logical. Much more so than most people I’d known. She was critical and could wrap her head around things unlike even myself. She was creative and outside of the box. Her brain and charisma weren’t even where the qualities ended. She was also quite good at kicking ass, and not breaking a sweat or ruining her shiny hair while she did it -- goddammit. I had to stop thinking about her, Hotch would notice soon that my review wasn’t done yet, despite always being finished first.

_Crash_

I looked up immediately, as did the majority of the people on the plane, and saw a phone that had fallen on the ground beside me. Without thought, I picked it up and glanced up, realizing it was hers. She smiled at me as I shakily handed it to her. Come As You Are was playing. Nirvana, I was correct. As it passed through our hands our fingers brushed against each other. Her fingernails were painted black and her skin was plump and soft.

“Thanks,” she spoke, heading back to her seat. I simply nodded.

What was wrong with me? I was always one for being observant and over-analytical, but still, I had never been so infatuated with a person...not like this. I rolled my eyes and shook it off, returning to my paperwork once more.

. . .  
I handed Hotch my paperwork as we entered the bullpen. He took it with one hand, dialing a number on his cell in the other. I noticed his demeanor change as soon as the other party answered. He smiled a wide, real smile. It was only so often we got to see him like that, truly happy. Ever since Haley died he had been like a statue, simpling going through the motions every day, not truly living or feeling. He instantly changed back to his old self whenever he talked to his son. I tried to tune him out to give him his privacy and walked towards Morgan, who was leaning against his desk and chatting with Garcia, most likely about more fixtures for their apartment.

“Hey kiddo, have a nice weekend,” he said, lightly punching me in the shoulder. It clearly took no effort from him whatsoever, yet still burned and pushed me back a bit.

I nodded and walked towards the elevator, shouting “You too!” back to him. Just my luck, Agent Fitzgerald was waiting in the elevator right as I walked in.

“Dr. Reid,” she greeted me with a nod. Her highlighted hair flowed over her shoulder perfectly, a few strands caught in her glossy, dark red lips. She pushed them out of the way as she spoke.

“Hey,” I said quietly, avoiding eye contact. In my peripheral, I saw her smile slightly and look down. It was only silent for maybe 6 seconds but it seemed like an hour. “Did you know that riding an elevator is actually safer than driving a car? Actually, on average only 26 people die in elevator related accidents per year and 26 people die in car-related accidents every hour,” I spat out. Her mouth was ajar, clearly, my little comment left her at a lack of words. Stupid, stupid, stupid. “Sorry…”

She giggled slightly, smirking at me, “Don’t be sorry, that’s actually quite interesting.”

I could tell she was lying simply to make me feel better, and even though I had this knowledge, I didn’t care. It felt good to hear someone acknowledge and appreciate the things I told them, even if she didn’t listen. I closed my lips and grinned to myself. The elevator doors opened and she walked out, strutting as if she was walking along a red carpet.

“Have a nice weekend, Spence.”

Spence, I thought, she called me Spence. I stood in the elevator for a moment watching her walk away, until finally my trance was broken and I followed her out.


End file.
